Venting means for nursing nipples



A ril 15, 19 1- c. J. SCHMID VENTING MEANS FOR NURSING NIPPLES Filed April 13, 1938 CARL a. 501mb V Patented Apr. 15, 1941 VENTING IVIEAN S FOR NURSING NIPPLES Carl J. Schmid, New York, N. Y., assignor to Julius Schmid, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of.

New York Application April 13, 1938, Serial No. 201,829

2 Claims.

This invention relates to nipples, and has for one of its objects the production of a simple and efficient venting means for a nursing bottle nipple and the like, wherein a relatively narrow elastic strip or band is extended across the open end of the nipple in a manner whereby the tension of the band may be regulated to control the entrance of air into a bottle upon which the nipple is placed by increasing the length of the air vent passage and decreasing the diameter of the passage.

Another object of this invention is the production of a simple and efiicient, means for securing the ends of an elastic strip or band to the body of a nipple.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear throughout the following specification and claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of my improved nipple;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the nipple, partly in. section;

Figure 3' is a vertical sectional, view taken. on line 3-3 of. Figure 2, a portion being shown. in elevation;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the bead of a nipple, showing, one manner of securing the end of the elastic band;

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through a portion of a neck of a bottle. showing a nipple in position. a portion of, the nipple being shown in elevation;

Figure 6 is an inverted. sectional view taken on line 6-8. of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on line 'l--! of. Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Figure 5;

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken on line 9-9 of Figure 5;

Figure 10 is a transverse sectional view through a modified form of the device illustrating one type of band securing means;

Figure 11 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the manner in which the form of nipple shown in Figure 10 is applied to a bottle;

By referring to the drawing, it will be noted that A designates a conventional elastic or rubber nipple which is adapted to fit upon a bottle 5 neck B of the conventional type. The nipple A is provided with an enlarged bead l0 along its Iii) lower edge which is adapted to fit under the heady tional manner.

It is a well known fact that the ordinary nursing nipples of the type illustrated possess the undesirable feature of collapsing while in use, due to the partial. vacuum which is created by sucking upon the nipple. I, therefore, provide an extremely simple and efiicient venting means in the nature of. a thin elastic strip or band which is carried by the nipple and which fits between the nipple and the neck of the bottle to allow air to pass up into the neck of the bottle through vent passages upon either side of the hand without permitting leakage of milk or other liquid. through the vent passages.

In the drawing it will be noted that I employ a single strand such for instance as a relatively thin or narrow strip or strand of elastic material It similar-to that used in. rubber bands, the, opposite. ends of. which are threaded through the bead portion, [0 of. the. nipple A, having a loop l3. upon the inner face. of the bead, the terminal's. 1.4. of the band extending outwardly of the bead andthe band I 2. being extended around underv the bead. 1.0,. and transversely across the open end of the, nipple. A, as shown clearly in the drawing. It will be noted that as the band is extended through the bead portion ID of the nipple; the band because of its flexible nature will be-stretched, thereby reducing its diameter, and; the. bead. portion because of its flexible nature will firmly grip around the stretched shank portion l5 of. the band, providing a tight grip and avoiding the use of. auxiliary fastening means. The loop, portions 13 and the terminal portions l4 whichextend upon opposite sides of the bead. ID will. assume their normal diameters aiter theends of the band have been threaded through the bead, Ill, and will, therefore resist any tendency for the ends of the band l2 to pull. through the bead l0 because. of the enlargement of the band through the medium of the normal diameters of the end portions l4 and the, loops l3.

The band. or strip I2. normally extends transversely across the. center of. the open end of the nipple A, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and when the nipple A is placed over the neck B of the bottle, the band or strip will stretch and conform to the contour of the neck of the bottle extending across the neck of the bottle and lying snugly between the inner face of the nipple A and the outer face of the neck B of the bottle, thereby providing elongated vent passages upon opposite sides of the strip l2, as shown in Figure 5, and providing air vent channels l6 upon opposite sides of the band Or strip l2 to allow air to pass up through these channels and into the bottle. The diameters of the portions of the band, strand or strip I2 which are gripped between the nipple A and the neck B of the bottle may be decreased by rotating the nipple A slightly in the direction of the arrow upon the neck B of the bottle to move the band or strip I? from the full line position shown in Figure 7 to the dotted line position, and due to the friction contact of the strip [2 between the neck B and-the nipple A, the band or strip IE will be stretched in the direction of the arrow, and because of this stretching will decrease the diameter of the band as well as increase the length of the'vent opening between the lower end of the-bead t and the exit portion of the vent opening at the upper end or outer end of the bottle neck, as will be obvious by considering Figures 6 and 7 which will indicate the positions of the band or strip l2 when the nipple is rotated. Through the medium of this structure, it will be noted that the size of the vent openings or passages may be regulated to control the amount of flow of liquid from the bottle through the nipple by rotating the nipple slightly upon thebottle, the sizes of the vent openings being normally controlled by the diameter of the band or strip I2, and the differences in the sizes of the vent passages being normally determined by the slackness or the tension of the band I2. It is obvious that as the nipple is rotated, the band will be not only lengthened, but its diameter will be reduced, thereby increasing the length of the air passages 16, as well as reducing the normal diameter of the passages. v

There are of course a number of ways in which the elastic strip or band may be secured to the nipple A, but one important form is shown inthe drawing, Figure 4 showing in enlarged detailthe manner in which the shank portion l5 of the band is compressed, while extending through the bead l0, and also showing the mannerv in which the loop portion or portions I 3 and terminal portion or portions [4 when they assume their normal diameters, provide retarding means to resist the pull of the band l2 through the aperture or apertures I 1 formed transversely through the bead H].

In Figures and 11, I have shown a further modified form of theinvention, wherein the nipple A carries a transversely extending elastic band or strip 3, the ends of which extend transversely through the bead 19, the band havinglenlarged end portions uponthe outer faces of the bead l9 to resist the pull of the ends of the band l8 through the bead. The band I8 is .provided with a reducedshank portion 2 I extending through the flexible bead IS, the shank portion 21 being provided by stretching the band [8 while it is being threaded through the bead I 9, and being compressed by the flexible or rubber bead l9.

It should be understood that when ababy sucks upon the nipple, a vacuum is builtup inside of the bottle and the air rushing in through the air vents will cause the elastic nipple to expand,

thereby enlarging the air vents. As soon as the baby discontinues sucking and the vacuum within the bottle decreases, the elastic nature of the nipple Will cause the nipple to compress tightly around the neck of the bottle, thereby reducing the diameter of the air passages to a minimum and acting as a check for preventing the leaking of the liquid or milk out through the air vent passages.

- Certain detail changes inthe structure may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, so long as such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is: I p

1-. In a flexible nipple having an open end adapted tofituover the neck of a bottle, an elastic strip spanning the open end of the nipple and having itsends folded back upon themselves and threaded through the nipple near its lower end from the outside towards the inside wall of the nipple, the portion'of the elastic strip passing through the Wall of the nipple being stretched and compressed to provide a tight grip between the nipple and the elastic strip, a portion of the elasticstrip projecting inwardly of the wall of the nipple to provide a loop having a normal diameter, the elastic strip extending over the outer face of the lower edge of the nipple and being adapted to extend between the inner face of the nippleand the outer face of the neck of a bottle to provide air vents upon opposite sides of the elastic strip, the nipple being adaptedto be rotated after being placed upon the neck of a bottle to cause the elastic strip to be stretched lengthwise and consequently reduce the diameter of that. portion of the elastic strip between the nipple and the neck of the bottle for regulating the size of the air vents upon opposite sides o lthe elastic strip.

2. In a flexible nipple having an open end adapted to fit over the neck of a bottle, an elastic strand "spanning the open end of the nipple and having its ends secured to the opposite sides of the nipple, a portion of the elastic strand at each end being stretched and compressed and passed through the wall of the nipple to provide a tight grip between the wall of the nipple and the elastic strand, a portion of the elastic strand at each end extending beyond the wall of the nipple andbeing of normal diameter to resist pulling action through the wall of the nipple, the portion of elastic strand spanning the open end of the nipple being adapted to extend between the inner face of the nipple and the outer face of the neck of a bottle to provide air vents upon opposite sides of the elastic strand, the nipple being adapted to be rotated after being placed upon the neck of a bottle to cause the elastic strand to stretch lengthwise and consequently reduce the diameter of that portion of the elastic 

